Nowadays, almost everyone on this planet has access to internet. Without access to a stable internet connection, there’s a lot of things you won’t be able to do. Since it became almost necessary to have an internet connection, people have developed lots of ways to stay connected at all times.
Most of us are familiar with Wi-Fi and 4G connections. We use them in our everyday lives for work or school or simply mindlessly scrolling our various feeds on the internet.
If you have an Android phone, you’ve probably noticed that your Wi-Fi and 4G connection are sometimes on at the same time. You may be wondering why is it happening or what does it mean. We’re here to answer some of the questions you might have about this topic.
Why Is WiFi and 4G On At The Same Time?
The first question that probably popped into your head is: “Does this mean there is something wrong with my phone?”. We’re here to assure you that this is nothing to worry about. It’s actually quite common for both of these icons to appear on top of your screen at the same time if you’re using an Android.
If this is something that’s bothering you, you can simply kill off the background apps. By switching off these apps, you’ve deactivated the 4G connection and the 4G icon should disappear from your screen.
Usually when 4G and Wi-Fi connection are on at the same time, it’s to make sure you have an optimal internet connection with no interruptions. And by killing off the background apps, you’ve ensured that there is no demand for internet from these apps and all that’s left is some functions that will operate using the Wi-Fi connection.
With Android phones, and most other phones, you can pick which connection you want to use by enabling it in your phone’s settings. You can also turn both of them on at the same time, and that’s when the two icons appear on top of your screen.
In most cases, when both of these options are turned on at the same time, your phone will use the Wi-Fi connection. This, of course, doesn’t apply to situations when there is no Wi-Fi network that’s available. In those cases, your phone will switch to using the 4G connection until there is a Wi-Fi network in range.
If you don’t want to use both of these connections at the same time, simply go to your settings and turn off whichever one you don’t want to use. If the reason you don’t want both of these connections to be on at the same time is because you’re worried about using too much data through the 4G connection, we assure you that it’s not something you need to stress about.
Whenever Wi-Fi is enabled on your phone, it will always prefer that connection over the 4G when accessing the internet. So, don’t fret if you’ve just realized that your mobile data has been turned on for a long period of time. Your phone was probably operating through Wi-Fi the entire time.
Apps Designed To Use 4G Connections
It’s important that we mention that there are some apps that are designed to prefer the 4G connection. That means that they will use the 4G connection even if your Wi-Fi is switched on. To prevent these apps from using up all your mobile data, make sure you switch off the 4G option before using them. That way, you won’t have to worry about data and the apps should be able to work just as well with a Wi-Fi connection as they would with the 4G one.
Wi-Fi Assist Feature
In some of the newer smartphone models, there is a feature installed in the operating system called Wi-Fi Assist. Its main function is to ensure that you have a stable connection. This means that your phone will automatically switch to 4G if it detects that your Wi-Fi connection isn’t strong enough, even though you have your Wi-Fi on.
This option can come in quite handy if you’re working on something that requires you to have an uninterrupted internet connection. But if you want your phone to always prefer the Wi-Fi connection, you’ll have to turn the Wi-Fi Assist option off in your phone’s settings.
The Last Word
To conclude this whole story, we want to emphasize that the Wi-Fi connection and the 4G one aren’t working at the same time – even though they are both turned on at the same time. And you can always choose which connection you want to use by switching the other one off in your settings. That way, you can make sure your internet connection stays strong and uninterrupted.